New sidewalks and scooter rack
I was very lucky in my life because I was born to hard working parents who always had a family business in one way or another. One of the core lesson they taught me was curb appeal! I can remember my father saying to me at a young age ” your store front and curb appeal is your first form of advertisement.”
Taking that the lesson into practice I had a lot of work to do at Casa De Compai. The first improvement after I purchased the property was to raise the wall. I did that in the fall of 2016. It wasn’t until the spring of 2019 that the front of Casa De Compai was finished. The easiest thing as we all know is paint. There really isn’t a reason not to have a part of any structor not looking painted well. The wall now reflects the paint scheme of the property. The next important item was to redo the sidewalk along the whole length of the property. The old sidewalk was broken in many places and uneven. The fact that it was uneven was more worrisome then curb appeal. I have a large client base that are retired and having sure footing is a must for safety. Lets not forget when your truly comes home after a night on the town, I need as smooth of a walkway as I can get. For the new walkway I wanted to use pavers. I really enjoy the look of pavers. I chose a lighter shade of brick, I thought that would match the color scheme much better. I also had new curbing installed and new gutters between the curb and and the street. The purpose of this wide gutter is to channel the large volume of rain we receive here in the Caribbean.
The next important thing I installed was a scooter rack to secure rented motor bikes. The reason I invested in this idea was I don’t want any motorcycles inside Casa De Compai. I have a tile though out Casa De Compai called coralina. This material is expensive and can stain easily. I also don’t want the gate to be sliding open day and night disturbing other clients and giving shadow a wonderful opportunity to run out. What I did was copy the same style of bike racks the schools used to have when I was growing up. I have a metal diamond plate bolted to the curb and street. The the back end of the plate has a metal rail welded to a brace that allows a lock and chain to be secured from the rail to the scooter. Now a client can drive onto the plate, use the chain and lock Casa De Compai provides and secure the moto.
The other thing I did was have the logo painted on the wall. Nothings beats walking home and seeing my logo. I also added a geiko and palm tree to the logo.
The last improvement caused some discussion. I have painted four words in Spanish with red circle and line in the middle to indicate not allowed. They are in english, No minors, no drugs, no weapons, and no men. I don’t need to explain why drugs and guns aren’t allowed on property, but minors and men I will. I dont’ want children on site. Casa De Compai is adults only. As far a no men, this confused many people. I get asked often “you don’t rent to men?” Yes I do, but here is the reason why. In Sosua there are guys who try to befriend tourist to show the foreigner around. This local expects to get paid for their time. They also get paid a commission on any business the tourist pays for. What they really peddle are drugs and prostitutes, and for this reason alone they are not allowed on my property. If your a tourist and your reading this blog post and you have that contact who you think is doing you a favor, your wrong, he is hustling you.
These are some on the reason I have the premier condo complex in Sosua. I take the safety of property and my clients very seriously.
